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Soviet Air Force, These Russian and
Soviet Aircraft, MIG 19, Petlyako PE-8, The Bear, Yak 3, by top aviation
artist, Robert Taylor, David Pentland, Keith Aspinall and Robert Tomlin
at these great prices for aviation art are available direct form military
art company a division of Cranston Fine arts at these great prices.
Ivan the Terrible by Stan Stokes. Hitlers
Operation Barbarossa was designed to destroy the Red Army utilizing huge
battles of annihilation along a wide front. The plan failed for several
reasons, one of which is the fact that they never gained complete air
superiority over the Red Army, which showed an amazing ability to
produce huge numbers of aircraft despite the destruction of many
production plants. Generally speaking, public awareness and information
regarding the air war in Russia during WW II is negligible in America.
One of Mother Russias greatest pilots was Ivan Kozhedub, and one of its
most effective aircraft was the La-7 fighter. S.A Lavochkin teamed with
V.P. Gorbunov in 1938 to design and develop a new Soviet fighter. The
specification called for a simple, easy-to-build aircraft, which could
be built quickly in very large numbers. The design was required to
utilized no alloys which might be scarce in a wartime economy. Late in
1940 the La GG-1 prototype was delivered. Although a bit slower than its
Mig and Yak rivals, the Lavochkin design had decent maneuverability, and
was capable of sustaining a lot of combat damage. By 1942 the La-5FN
variant had evolved. The La-5FN had improved performance, handling, and
pilot visibility. Utilized in the Battle of Stalingrad the Russians
nicknamed the aircraft the Wooden Saver of Stalingrad. The La-5FN was
powered by a Shvetson 14 cylinder radial engine capable of 1,700 HP.
With a wingspan of only 32 feet the La-5 was one of the smallest and
lightest fighters of WW II. This gave the aircraft some unique
advantages in dogfighting situations. Lavochkin was awarded a Stalin
Prize and his design and production bureau received upgraded status. In
1943 production switched to the La-7, a noticeably more attractive
aircraft with a redesigned wing, a relocated oil cooler and
supercharger, and heavier armament. The La-7 utilized some light alloys
for the first time, and approximately 6,000 aircraft were produced.
Capable of speeds of 423 MPH at 10,000 feet.
Many believe that the La-7 may have been the top dogfighting
fighter of WW II. In total more than 30,000 Lavochkin fighters were
produced. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting entitled Ivan
the Terrible, Ivan Kozhedub is piloting his Lavochkin La-7 in a
dogfight with a German Fw-190. Ivan Kozhedub, with 62 aerial victories,
was the top scoring Allied fighter pilot of WW II. Ivan was assigned to
the front in 1943 in time for the Great Battle of Kursk. He was assigned
to one of the first units to fly the new Lavochkin La-5 fighters. In
July of 1943 Ivan notched his first victory, a Junkers-87. By the end of
the Battle of Kursk, Kozhedub had been promoted to Eskadrill Commander,
and had been awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1944 Ivan was
assigned to a crack unit of the 176th Guards IAP. This unit was moved
from place to place where they could do the most good, and as a result
Kozhedub saw plenty of action. Ivan attained 45 confirmed victories
while piloting the La-5, and then 17 additional ones while piloting the
La-7, including one over an Me-262 Swallow jet fighter. His last two
victories (long-nosed Fw-190s) came near wars end over Berlin. Kozhedub
was awarded three Hero of the Soviet Union awards and the Order of
Lenin.
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 | Skirmish Over Stalluponen by David Pentland. | 4 editions available from £95.00 |  | Clash of Armour by Stan Stokes. | £40.00 |  | A Costly Victory by Stan Stokes. | 4 editions available from £80.00 |  | Battle of Kursk by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) | £430.00 |  | Lightning QRA Intercept by Michael Rondot. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Captain Ivan Smirnov by Ivan Berryman. (APB) | 6 editions available from £60.00 |  | Angels and Knights by Stan Stokes. | 5 editions available from £40.00 |  | Cold War Gone Hot by David Pentland. | 4 editions available from £37.80 |  | Sikorski Ilya Muromets by Ivan Berryman. (B) | 7 editions available from £51.00 |  | ANT 20bis by Keith Woodcock (P) | £750.00 |  | Buffalo Ace by Stan Stokes. | 2 editions available from £40.00 |  | Russian Giant by Stan Stokes. | £40.00 |  | Red Stars Over Berlin, 12th August 1941 by David Pentland. | 4 editions available from £51.00 |  | Russian Roulette by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | The Bear and the Tomcats by Keith Aspinall. | £16.00 |  | Horrido! Rall by Les Carter. | £145.00 |  | Ivan the Terrible by Stan Stokes. | 2 editions available from £40.00 |  | Duel on the Dnepr, Southen Russia, Summer 1943 by David Pentland. | 4 editions available from £95.00 |  | Cold War Encounter by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | The Forgotten Fighter by Stan Stokes. | £40.00 |  | Eagle Intercept by Philip West. | £80.00 |  | The Pencil Eraser by Stan Stokes. | 3 editions available from £40.00 |  | Albatros W.4 by Ivan Berryman. (B) | 7 editions available from £51.00 |
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Red Stars Over Berlin, August 12th 1941 by David Pentland
On Stalin's personal orders, Petlyako PE-8 bombers, led by the hero
of the Soviet Union, Major General Mikhal V. Vodopyanov, carry out their
only raid on the German capital of Berlin.
Clash of Armour by Stan Stokes.
More than 35,000 Ilyushin Sturmovik IL-2 ground attack aircraft were
produced during WW II, the largest production run of any WW II aircraft.
Often called The Flying Tank, the Sturmovik played a major role in the
defeat of Nazi Germany on the Eastern front. The origins of this
important aircraft date to 1938 when a design team headed by Sergei
Vladimorovic Ilyushin began work on a new monoplane tactical bomber and
ground attack aircraft. The initial prototype was completed in 1939, but
was underpowered and had several structural flaws. With several
modifications and use of a 1600-HP liquid cooled engine the final
prototype was accepted and production began in 1940. Only a few hundred
Sturmoviks were in service when Hitlers invasion of Russia commenced.
One of the key design concepts of this aircraft was incorporation of an
armored shell as both protection for engine and crew, and as a
structural portion of the aircrafts design. Other aircraft designs
typically added armor later, burdening the performance of the aircraft
with the added weight. Sergeis design was unique, and the early variants
were capable of top speeds approaching 300-MPH, and were almost
invulnerable to attack from small caliber weapons. The second major
variant incorporated a second crew member position as a rear gunner to
fend off attacks by opposing fighters. Capable of carrying a 2000 pound
bomb load to its target, special armor piercing bombs carried by the
Sturmoviks were capable of knocking out any German armor, including the
legendary Tiger tank, if attacked from the rear. This aircraft also
carried several machine guns and cannons, making it no easy prey for
opposing fighters. The final production variants of this aircraft were
fitted with a 2000-HP engine and were capable of 330-MPH. In recognition
of the significance of his design, Sergei Ilyushin was made a Hero of
the Soviet Union. He also received a cash prize from Stalin in 1945 for
his design of the final variant, the Il-II-10. A competing design was
the Yak-4, a twin engined ground attack aircraft. Unlike the Sturmovik,
the Yak-4 proved vulnerable to ground fire, and was withdrawn by the Red
Air Force from production in 1942, and was thereafter relegated to a
high altitude reconnaissance role. It is generally agreed that the
Sturmovik was the most important and successful ground attack aircraft
to see service in WW II.
The Forgotten Fighter by Stan Stokes.
In early
1937, Bell Aircraft presented a revolutionary fighter design to the
USAAC, the P-39 Airacobra. Incorporating machine guns and the most
powerful cannon available, the new design by Robert Woods, utilized many
revolutionary design features. The all-metal, low wing, monoplane design
utilized a centrally located engine in the fuselage, a feature which
enhanced maneuverability. A nine foot shaft ran through the cockpit to
drive the propeller. Woods design was the first fighter to incorporate a
forward tricycle landing gear, which gave the P-39 pilot great
visibility while on the ground. The first prototype flew in 1938.
Equipped with a supercharged Allison water-cooled V-12 rated at
1,150-HP, the prototype performed admirably. It exhibited a top speed of
390-MPH, and an amazingly quick rate of climb. Unfortunately for the
Airacobra, the USAAC decided to eliminate the supercharged engine from
the project, a move which would relegate the Airacobra to the
distinction of being Americas forgotten fighter of WW II. Without the
supercharger the P-39s performance at altitude was inferior to most of
the adversaries it would face. In 1941 lend-leased Airacobras went into
battle with the RAF, but were quickly withdrawn from front line duty.
Many of these, and many others eventually found service with the Red Air
Force. In fact the Soviets ultimately received more than half of the
9,500 aircraft produced. Alexander Pokryshkin
was the second highest scoring Soviet ace of WW II with
fifty-nine victories. Forty-eight of these were achieved why flying the
Aircacobra. Pokryshkin was a great leader who inspired others who flew
under his command. He joined the Red Air Force in 1933 and attained his
first victory (over a Bf-109E) in June of 1941 while piloting a Mig-3.
He was a great tactician, and a student of fighter tactics. On one
occasion his unit attacked a flight of sixteen Ju-87s, and Pokryshkin
bagged four. While flying in the Caucasus region he became well known to
his German adversaries, who would radio, Achtung! Der Ass Pokryshkin in
der luft! when they realized he was airborne. Shot down on 4 occasions,
he was made squadron commander of the elite 16th Guards IAP. Considered
the father of Soviet fighter tactics, thirty pilots under his command
would go on to be awarded the coveted Hero of the Soviet Union medal.
The P-39 also was in service with several units in the Pacific early in
the War. Lacking sufficient range to be used for many escort missions,
and deficient in dog fighting against the superior Japanese aircraft
they faced, the P-39s were relegated by the USAAC to ground attack
missions. The aircraft was withdrawn from front line service as more
capable P-38s, P-47s, and P-51s became available.
In spite of the deficiencies of the P-39, a derivative design,
the P-63 Kingcobra, was one of only nine designs evaluated by the USAAF
in 1942-43 to be put into production. Although similar in appearance the
P-63 was actually a totally new design. It was not produced in any great
quantity, and two hundred of these aircraft were modified into Flying
Pinballs, and were used to train B-17 gunners.
Ivan The Terrible by Stan Stokes In 1941 the advancing German forces had obliterated
the Soviet Air Force. During the first week of fighting the Luftwaffe
had destroyed more than 4000 Soviet aircraft. Huge numbers of aircraft
were destroyed hopelessly on the ground, and those that took to the sky
were often outclassed by superior equipment flown by more experienced
pilots. The decimation of the Soviet Air Force during the fighting in
1941 was shocking, but even more remarkable is the story of the comeback
of the Soviet Air Force. The Soviets had been blessed during their
history with many excellent aviation designers and engineers. Zhukovsky,
Sikorsky, Tupolev, Polikarpov, Mikoyan, Lavochkin, and Gurevich to name
but a few. The Germans smashed the pride the nation had in its Air
Forces, but the Soviets fought back. Most of the Soviet fighters at the
start of the War were obsolete Polikarpov I-153s or I-16s. Some Mig 3s
were available, but the Mig 3 was a poor performer at low altitudes, and
was too unstable and too lightly armed to tangle with German fighters.
The Lavotchkin LA-7 and the Yakovlev Yak-3 were two excellent new
fighter designs that gave the Soviets some competitive edge, and an
important ground support aircraft was the Il-2 Sturmovik. It is a
miracle that the Soviets were able to produce these aircraft in large
volumes. Production factories had to be moved east out of the range of
German bombers, and the Soviets imported a large number of foreign made
aircraft including the Bell P-39 Airacobra. In November of 1943 one of
the fiercest aerial combat battles of all time took place. During a
battle near the Kuban River, Russian and German aircraft clashed by the
hundreds. For the first time since the German invasion in 1941, the Red
Air Force prevailed. For the first time the Soviets took the initiative,
sending wave after wave of modern new aircraft into combat against the
Luftwaffe. In the air the Soviets earned their first victory over the
Germans… a sign of things to come. During the Battle of Kursk in
mid-1943, the Luftwaffe amassed nearly 2000 aircraft, however the
Soviets had more than twice that number. This numerical superiority paid
off during the fighting, In Stan Stokes painting a Mig-3 targets a
Dornier Flying Pencil. More
than 3000 Mig-3s were produced, but the aircraft was effective only in
the role of high altitude interceptor or reconnaissance aircraft. At
lower altitudes it was outclassed. The Do-17 was a prewar design that
first entered service in 1937. The aircraft was enhanced with a 215 and
217 variant. The bomber version had a crew of 4 and was capable of
carrying as much as a 9,000 pound bomb loads. With a maximum speed of
320-MPH the Flying Pencil could be elusive.
Cold War Intercept by Keith Aspinall Lightnings of 11 squadron intercept a Soviet TU-95 Bear.
over the north sea
The Bear and the Tomcats by Keith
Aspinall F-14 Tomcats of VF - 143 Pukin Dogs intercept a
Russian TU-95 Bear over the Mediterranean during the Cold war
Vietnam War Veteran by Stan Stokes.
The McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II was produced from
1958 Thorough 1981. In excess of 5,000 aircraft were produced in twenty
variants. The F-4 evolved from McDonnels earlier work on the F3H Demon
and the F-101A Voodoo, an aircraft substantially heavier and larger than
first generation jet fighters. The Phantom was initially intended as a
fleet interceptor, but the aircraft was asked to take on additional
tasks for which it was not totally optimized for. It is a testament to
the basic quality of the design of the aircraft, and the skill and
determination of the pilots which flew it, that the Phantom was a
success in most of the varied roles it was asked to undertake. The F-4
was designed to be a platform for high-tech weaponry, with highly
supersonic qualities, excellent range, and the ability to lift a large
external payload. Initially only ordered by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft
was carrier qualified in February 1961. In 1962 under intense pressure
from the Department of Defense the Air Force relented and announced that
four wings of F-105s would be replaced with Phantoms. By the mid-sixties
over 1,000 Phantoms had been delivered, and it was generally anticipated
that the aircraft would be in production for only four or five more
years. However, forecasters failed to fully comprehend the eventual
scope of the United States involvement in Vietnam, and the serious
problems with the development of the F-111 (also known as the TFX). As a
result the Phantom got a second lease on life, and production of
improved versions of the aircraft were accelerated. The ultimate Air
Force version of the Phantom was designated the F-4E, and 1,242 were
manufactured from 1967 to 1978. The Vietnam War gave the Phantom an
assured place in aviation history. One version of the Phantom was
equipped with additional electronics and given the mission of detecting
and destroying enemy Surface-to-Air missile sites. Aircraft so-equipped
were accurately nicknamed Wild Weasels. During the Vietnam War the F-4s
aerial adversaries included the Mig-17, Mig-19, and the Mig-21. A
shark-mouthed Air Force F-4 in a near miss situation with a Mig-19 over
the cloudy skies of North Vietnam. The Phantoms two-man crew is looking
to the port side of the aircraft, as they anticipate a close encounter
of the wrong kind.
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| SHOWCASE PRODUCT | |
| ARTIST | Featured Artist - Ivan Berryman
Ivan Berryman - Battle of Britain Art
Artist Ivan Berryman has been producing many pencil drawings depicting scenes from the Battle of Britain. Each of these is signed by one of the pilots who was actually present at the battle, and is often inspired by the events they took part in themselves. Special signed print editions have also been created from existing full colour print editions, with some featuring multiple pilot signatures. You can find all of Ivan's Battle of Britain artwork on his website - www.ivanberryman.com, or see a full list of pencil drawings - updated regularly, in our dedicated section of pencil drawings.
When you go to a product page for an item in our shop, click on the names of the pilots where they are linked in the text for an item to see a profile page for that pilot. Often we include photos of signing sessions along with details of their flying career, and a full list of all items signed by the pilot. |
| | Pilot Signed Battle of Britain Prints and Original Pencil Drawings |
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
We are busy building up a portfolio of many many original pencil drawings which depict events from the Battle of Britain, the famous air battle won by 'the Few' in the summer of 1940. The British and Commonwealth pilots defended the air above Britain and the surrounding seaways from the might of the German Luftwaffe. Greatly outnumbered, the bravery of these young pilots saved the country from invasion, and let Britain survive to go on to defeat Germany. Without that first crucial victory, the outcome of the war could have been so very different. We have been busy arranging signing sessions with the few pilots who fought in that great battle who remain with us to this day. Our newly commissioned pencil drawings are often based on the descriptions of the battle by these great men, and are authenticated by their signatures. We have also had several editions of existing prints signed in full, or have signatures added to parts of existing editions. We have also incoporated signatures of some of the German pilots who also took part in the battle, some of whom went on to become top scoring aces of the war. See our Original Pencil Drawings Section - particularly the section of artists David Pentland and Ivan Berryman. Also, see our New Signature Editions section to see all of our newly signed editions.
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